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Back protector - how does it supposed to work?

10K views 31 replies 20 participants last post by  Exitwounds 
#1 · (Edited)
I high sided the other day on my K7 600. Luckily the bike just skidded on the frame slider, and spool slider, and didn't damage anything else.
I on the other hand wasn't as lucky...
I was thrown off around 70mph, and tumbled hitting my back and head multiple times. I was wearing a full gear (two piece suit, back protector, gloves, racing boots, and of course a helmet)I have a couple of questions...

1. Back protector that I have is ICON field gear. It saved my kidneys and spleen from having any damage, but I am severely bruised where the back protector ends at the bottom. I guess the impact slammed the end of the protector into my lower back. Does it supposed to work like that? Or is ICON protector a junk?

2. This might be hard to tell. I have a HJC CL-SP. Unfortunately I wear a size XXXL and my choices on the helmet is limited. I hit my head on the ground a few times. And ended up with a mild concussion. Should I have gotten any concussion? Or did the helmet do a great job? I haven't had a concussion since I was 7 years old. Some of my friends said that if I was wearing an Arai Corsair, I wouldn't have gotten any concussion. Does anyone know if that is true from their experience? Unfortunately Corsair doesn't come in XXXL. I'm thinking of Shoei RF-1000 as my next helmet though.

Any opinion or thoughts would be great. Thanks.

P.S. Aftermath, I ended up with a shattered left hand, a mild concussion and a deep contusion on lower back. I'm okay. No need to worry! :)
 
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#2 ·
Heel fast. Props on the gear.
Metal and plastic can be repaired or replaced. Health on the other hand is a different story.
Looks like that vest did you a lot of good. The coccyx area that you are talking about is very vulnerable. High-end protective gear offer protection for it.cheaper brands don't.
Sorry to brake it to Icon gear fans but the only thing why Icon gear is selling it's because it's cheap. No extensive R&D like other brands. I love my Knox back protector.
As for the helmet part I suggest you get that RF 1100.
 
#4 ·
The purpose of the back protector is to protect your spine, not your kidneys and junk. Those are generally not going to be harmed in a wreck, unless you were impaled by something, in which case you're fucked regardless.

The helmet is supposed to be snug. Since you say you slammed into the ground several times and the helmet didn't fly off, I assume it was well-fitting. The concussion is simply because even with a helmet, your body is only built to sustain so much. The fact that you got a concussion and not broken bones (or even death) is a testament to the value of a helmet. Yeah concussions suck, but death sucks more.

Chalk it up to gear did an awesome job.


I recently had a wreck almost identical to another guy who posted on the forums, and if you compare our injuries you can see just how valuable the gear is.

His crash: http://www.gixxer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4109036&postcount=1
Mine: http://www.gixxer.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4111490&postcount=13
 
#18 ·
The purpose of the back protector is to protect your spine, not your kidneys and junk. Those are generally not going to be harmed in a wreck, unless you were impaled by something, in which case you're fucked regardless.

The helmet is supposed to be snug. Since you say you slammed into the ground several times and the helmet didn't fly off, I assume it was well-fitting. The concussion is simply because even with a helmet, your body is only built to sustain so much. The fact that you got a concussion and not broken bones (or even death) is a testament to the value of a helmet. Yeah concussions suck, but death sucks more.

have to correct you on the kidneys...with high impacht blunt trauma,it isnt very difficult to rupture the spleen and kidneys,and being solid organs,they are highly vascular and bleed profusely. imagine dropping and orange,it springs back to normal shape,now throw it against the wall,it ruptures.

as far as the concussion,that is caused by whats called a coup-contra coup injury. where the brain slams against the skull,then bounces to the other side and slamming it into the other side. depending on the mechanism of injury,this can happen several times. i think youd have been concussed wearing any helmet,regardless of brand. had you not been wearing one,there probably would have been skull fractures and quite possibly contusions or bleeding into the brain....bad mo-jo.

good job wearing the gear,sounds like it saved your ass! :cheers
 
#5 ·
agree with USAFR600.

it might be inferior gear but it seemed to have done its job. From what I've read, high siding accidents are no jokes. 70 MPH high side and all you got was a shattered hand, back contusion, and a mild concussion... Coulda been a lot worse...
 
#21 ·
After my get off at the track, I think I'm going to get something like these for next year.

http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=22

My back protector did a good job (Knoxx if that matters) but my butt took a beating :) I walked like a cripple for a week.

I have the Dainese version of these and it did the job during my last get off.

I am also looking for a light weight thin back protector as they Forcefield one I bought is to big and bulky making my suit to tight.
 
#8 ·
my knox has a tail protector built in, no comparison to the icon. concussions are not that unusual with a helmet. i have had, i think, 8. all racing with the best helmets available at the time. any gear is better than no gear, but there are differences. sometimes big ones. hope you heal up quick. i also wear the bohn shorts pictured above.
:punk
 
#10 ·
i have the contour so it looks different but fits like that one. i actually took the tail bone protector out of my bohn shorts because with the one in the protector it was too much.
 
#11 ·
Ya, I wonder how well I'm going to fit into my leathers with those shorts ... I guess I'll buy em and see what happens.

Do you find they constrict your movement left to right, ect?
 
#15 ·
my leathers were new & very tight. the shorts slipped right underneath & really made no fit difference. they are very comfortable. mine have a mesh crotch panel. they now offer one with a chamois butt pad like bike shorts. i would get that model but i'm old with a sore ass! :biggrin
 
#12 ·
the tail barely goes into the pants. I was just wondering how much better the better back protector would've done.
Hand is in the cast so it doesn't hurt too much, but my back is killing me! I'm walking sort of bent to the side and hunched over lol.
If better gear would've protected me better, I'd like to get it...
Fortunately there is a closeout going on for RF-1000 for under $300.

This was by far the hardest get off I ever had. So I wasn't sure if the gear did their job or not.
Alpinestar suits held up great though. No rip or nothing.
 
#13 ·
Also, my point was, ICON back protector, instead of distributing the impact to wider area, it concentrated the impact to lower back. I don't have any bruising anywhere else on my back. And the contusion I have is from the bottom of the back protector slamming into my lower back. So, lack of R&D is probably apparent there... is what I'm guessing. I have small bruises on my knee, elbow etc, too. But the armours did their job and the bruises are very minor. That's what I was hoping to accomplish with the back protector, too. Even though it protected my spine, it ended up bruising my lower back with it. So, maybe ICON back protector does suck.
 
#14 ·
It is definitely better than nothing but at the same time every crash is different so we can't tell if a better back protector would've helped in any case. Too many variable to pinpoint one thing and say - "yup it was becasue it was the ICON back protector." ICON is definitely junk though and more for the style and looks than for function. It will definitely do the job, but I'd prefer a brand that is race proven time and time again. I have a dainese back protector BTW.
 
#25 ·
i heard that back protectors are there to prevent bruising of the spine(pretty nasty stuff) if your gonna break your back your gonna break it. if your spine is going to have a point load (usually what breaks it)it's gonna be point loaded with the force of you body on that point not much can be done about it.
 
#27 ·
ummmmm....no. a helmet can decrease the likelyhood of both fracture and concussion. but because of trauma kinetics,youre more likely to suffer a concussion,because frequently,a concussion is due to rapid deceleration,where as a skull fracture is the result of blunt trauma. you can have both,because blunt trauma in an accident results in rapid deceleration.


as for "point loading" on the spine,that holds only some truth. safety in motor vehicle accidents is all about energy transfer. a back protector will help absorb energy (keeping the energy from transferring to you) as well as disperse energy (transferring the energy over a wider area). so in saying that,if you land back first on a curb with the back protector on,you are less likely (not 100% safe) to sustain a spinal injury. with no back protection,the energy in the collision is transferred directly to your spine.

sorry,that was long winded.
 
#30 ·
It sounds like the helmet did its job. Even by wearing a helmet you can still get a concussion, most of the time thats what happens. It doesnt take much or a hard hit to cause a concussion.

In my opinion, hitting the ground at 70 MPh or even 50MPH and hitting your head a few times. Any helmet no matter what wont stop a concussion. They are strictly meant to absorb the impact and save your skull and brains.
 
#31 ·
you smack your head on the pavement it doesnt matter what helmet you have you will get a concussion.

Back protectors were originally designed to stop sharp objects like footpegs and the like from shattering vertabrae. They are about impact protection. the bruising you are getting is also unavoidable if your back has conected with the pavement, particularly if in your high side your initial impact has been flat on your back.

I have had several track injuries, and sometimes there is no gear in the world that will stop your body breakiing, there is just too much force involved, and at the end of the day gear for motorcycles are a balance between protection Vs. usability. The controlling of a motorcycle requires finesse and agility. you cant have that if you are trussed up like the michelin man.
 
#32 ·
The helmet did its job, you would have been killed without it.

There is roughly a 1/4" of room between your brain and your skull. The brain bruises very easily and the tiny distance traveled between the brain and the skull in a violent crash will cause the concussion. In theory, you could avoid that by having padding that absorbed all shock, but that's not realistic or something that is availiable.
 
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